Texas Hold'em (ACPC format) Rules
Overview
The ACPC format is the heads-up no-limit Texas Hold'em format used by the Annual Computer Poker Competition: two players, blinds 50/100, and both stacks reset to 200 big blinds at the start of every hand. Because every hand starts with equal stacks and hands do not affect one another, results can be added up and compared directly, which makes it well suited to measuring two players' strength over many hands.
- Players: heads-up — one on one.
- Cards: one 52-card deck, no jokers.
- Blinds: small blind 50, big blind 100, no ante.
- Stacks: at the start of every hand both players have 20,000 chips (200 big blinds), reset every hand. Results do not carry over; there is no buy-in, no top-up and no busting out.
- A hand: from dealing hole cards to awarding the pot.
- No rake: the whole pot goes to the winner; the two results always sum to 0.
Positions
- Heads-up: the button is the small blind; the other player is the big blind. The button alternates every hand.
- Before the flop the button (small blind) acts first; after the flop the big blind acts first.
How a hand goes
- Blinds: small and big blind are posted.
- Hole cards: two each, seen only by their owner.
- Pre-flop betting: the small blind (button) acts first.
- Flop: three community cards, then a betting round (big blind first).
- Turn: a fourth community card, then a betting round.
- River: a fifth community card, then the last betting round.
- Showdown: if neither player folded, both show and the better hand wins.
If a player folds, the hand ends immediately and the other player wins the pot; no cards are shown.
What you can do on your turn
| Action | When |
|---|---|
| Check | When nobody has bet this round (or you have matched the highest bet). |
| Call | When the opponent has bet or raised: match the highest bet. |
| Bet / raise to | Open the betting or raise the opponent's bet. A raise amount means "your total for this round" (raise to), not "how much more". |
| Fold | Give up the hand; chips already in the pot go to the opponent. |
| All-in | Put in all your remaining chips. |
- Minimum raise: the raise must be at least the size of the last bet or raise this round, and at least one big blind; the pre-flop big blind counts as a bet. Example: big blind 100, the opponent raises to 300 (by 200), your minimum raise is to 500.
- Maximum: no limit — up to all-in.
Special situations
- Short all-in: an all-in that is less than a full bet or full raise does not reopen the betting for a player who has already acted — they can only call or fold.
- Big blind option: if the small blind only calls pre-flop, the big blind may still check or raise.
- Uncalled bets are returned: at the end of a round, the part of your chips above the opponent's highest amount is returned to you.
- After an all-in: when neither player can bet any more, the remaining community cards are dealt at once; both hands are shown first, then the streets are revealed one by one.
- Split pots: equal hands split the pot evenly (both players have put in the same amount, so there is never an odd chip).
Hand rankings (high to low)
Use your two hole cards and the five community cards to make the best five-card hand (you may use both, one or none of your hole cards).
| Hand | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | A straight of one suit | ♠9 ♠10 ♠J ♠Q ♠K |
| Four of a kind | Four of the same rank | 8 8 8 8 K |
| Full house | Three of a kind plus a pair | 5 5 5 J J |
| Flush | Five of one suit | ♥2 ♥6 ♥9 ♥J ♥A |
| Straight | Five consecutive ranks | 6 7 8 9 10 |
| Three of a kind | Three of the same rank | Q Q Q 4 9 |
| Two pair | Two pairs | 7 7 3 3 A |
| One pair | One pair | 10 10 A 8 2 |
| High card | None of the above | A J 9 6 3 |
- Ranks high to low: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. Suits are equal.
- The ace can be low in A-2-3-4-5 (the lowest straight); it cannot wrap from K around to 2.
- Equal hand types compare the ranks that make the hand, then the kickers. Five identical ranks split.
Scoring
- Each hand's result = chips you won back minus chips you put in, in big blinds (divided by 100).
- Because stacks reset every hand, results can be added and compared directly.